“What is truth?”
Pilate’s question still echoes throughout the past 2,000 years, but sadly, too many people don’t think they can answer that question.
Christians, though, can …
(Note: This is the third part in a three-part series).
In 2021, a major government office decided to replace the word “women” with “birthing people” in its official documents. When pressed, a spokesperson said the government didn’t want to offend people over a “complex issue.”
That same year leaders from a nationwide denomination pushed to formally welcome men and women who unrepentantly embraced sin as members, even leaders, and no one at the meeting outright condemned the idea. In fact it seems no one could. Like many in the denomination, the attendees didn’t think the Bible spoke clearly on this “disputed theological matter.”
What is truth?
“Who knows,” Satan says.
The author of confusion has masterfully manipulated statistics and soundbites, even theology, to convince people God can’t or didn’t speak clearly, and this fog-like uncertainty has turned black and white into gray convictions based primarily on feelings.
A 2018 survey, for instance, reported, “Truth is increasingly regarded as something felt, or relative (44%), rather than something known, or absolute (35%).”
And this leaven has even turned foundational doctrines into mere interpretations, just one of many understandings all equally valid with none exclusively right.
The New Testament writers, however, not only denounced sin clearly, they also dared to declare that anyone could know truth and keep Christ’s commandments, no matter their education or formal training.
As Paul told the Corinthians, he didn’t need to present complex, theological arguments to reach them because the foundational truth of the cross and resurrection don’t need such proofs to convict sinners and lead them to mercy, while even the least educated of Christians can communicate their simple truths through the power of the Spirit.
But a simple faith is not a shallow faith. Water, for instance, is both simple and deep. A man dying of thirst must not analyze its molecular composition to drink, but once satisfied he can dive deeply into its other unfathomable promises. Likewise, a soul dying of sin must not first analyze hermeneutics to drink of the water of life (Revelation 22:17), but once sanctified, it will dive more deeply into the wonders of truth (1 Corinthians 2:6), and this includes “rightly dividing” the Word to recognize sin (learn more about the promise of salvation and righteousness in lesson 11).
The simple faith also delights to discover the logic, science, and history behind the Bible because it delights to please God, who said to cast down those statistics, arguments, and “every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God” (2 Corinthians 10:5).
A shallow faith, however, barely bothers to understand the implications of the cross or Christ’s commands. It uses the cross as a crutch to prop up a lazy, blind, and vague belief that produces soundbites and slogans, not godly fruit.
Satan especially seeks the shallow faith, challenging it on the age of the earth, the validity of the Bible, the reality of Jesus, and the morality of God.
And either shallow believers repent and learn to discern, or they retreat until they only offer the thirsty an unsatisfying (and unbiblical) drop of vague love and acceptance.
“I’m a Christian,” a professing believer once said. “I do believe that there is a higher power. I’m just not exactly … I don’t know how to say it … There’s a lot of stuff in the Bible that was written there that is kind of weird. I’m not sure how to feel about this.”
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